Foreign Language Department

Middle school foreign language studies begin in the sixth grade through a FLEX (foreign language exploratory) program. Students explore three languages (French, Latin and Spanish) during one quarter of the year as part of the Art-Music-Computer-Foreign Language (“AMCFL”) rotation. After completing FLEX, middle school students choose which language to pursue in the seventh grade and beyond.

Seventh-grade students at HRA begin a sequence of study that we hope will continue through the senior year. Although the minimum requirement for graduation from HRA is a three-year sequence of language study (or two years of Latin followed by a minimum of two years of a modern language), the vast majority of students continue well beyond the requirement. Of the seventy-five students in the class of 2006, for example, approximately eighty-three percent continued to study a second language during the senior year. Students may choose from French, Latin and Spanish. During the seventh-grade year, students complete Level 1-A. Eighth grade foreign language courses are designated 1-B. By the end of the eighth-grade year, students will have earned one high-school credit in their chosen language.

A brief description of the classes offered by HRA are available in our Course Catalog. You may also view these Course Descriptions online.